Music leaf turner



Patented Feb. 2|,.l899.

A. G. LAMB.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

(Application Bled Mar. 3, 1898.)

(No Modal.)

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Patented Feb. 2|, |899.

A. G. LAMB.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

Sheet 2.

(Application led Mu'. 3, 1898.)

2 Sheets (No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ALFRED GERARD LAMB, OF ORESOO, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND GEORGE Il. KELLOGG, OF SAME PLACE.

muslo-LEAF TURNER.

srEc'rFIcATIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 620,043, dated February 21, 1899.

Application filed March 3,1898.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be itknown that I, ALFRED GERARD LAMB, of Oresco, in the county of Howard and State of Iowa, have invented a new and Improved Music-Leaf Turner, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a music-leaf turner capable of bein g secured to an instrument expeditiously and conveniently and without injury to the instrument, and, furthermore, to provide a means whereby through the medium of compressed air springcontrolled leaf-turning arms may be operated at the will of the performer to turn the pages one after the other, it being possible to control the compressed air either by pressure of the foot or by pressure of the hand.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character above set forth which will be exceedingly simple, durable, and economical, and, furthermore, to provide a means for securely holding a sheet of music in position upon the board or support to which the leaf-turning attachment may be applied.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved device, including the leaf-turning attachment and the device for holding the music in position to be engaged by the turning attachment, a portion of the leaf-turning attachment being iu section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device. Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the shaft, around which the leaf-carrying arms revolve, the section being taken through one of the springs controlling a leaf-turning arm. Fig. 4isahorizontal section taken subsiantially on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially on the line 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the latch-rod adapted for engagement with the leaf-turning arms and arranged to be operated by compressed Serial No. 672,401. (No model.)

air. Fig. 7 illustrates, respectively, an inner face view of the movable section of the receiver for compressed air and an edge View of said portion, the parts being in the position they occupy before they are attached to the xed section of the receiver. Fig. S is a plan view of the heel portion of one of the leaf-turning arms. Fig. 9 is a perspective View of the free end of the leaf-turning arm and the clamp applied thereto. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of a spring adapted to carry a valve for the receiver for the compressed air. Fig. l1 is a detail perspective view of the shaft around which the leaf-turning arms turn. Fig. 12 is a longitudinal section through the device adapted to operate the aircompressing bulb, and Fig. 13 is an outer face view of the device. Fig. 14 is a front elevation of a plate adapted to carry the leafturning arms, and Fig. 15 is a section on the line 15 15 of Fig. 14.

A represents a board which is preferably arched at the central portion of its upper edge, the margin of the board being provided with a covering 10 of a soft or yielding material, so as to prevent the board from scratching or marring ahighly-polished surface with which it may come in contact, and the board is held in engagement with the instrument to which it may be applied, preferably through the medium of elastic cups 10a, ordinarily termed suckers, which are usually secured to the back of the board at or near its corners, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. A plate 11 is usually attached to the front of the board at its central upper arched portion, which portion is designated in the drawings by the reference-numeral12. Lugs 13 and 14 are projected horizontally from the central lportion of the plate 11, one near the top and the other near the bottom, and a shaft 15 is securely held in the said lugs, the shaft being shown detached in Fig. 11. the shaft 15 is provided with a circular reduced upper end 16, which enters the lug 13, and a squared lower end 17, which enters the lower lug 14. The shaft is furthermore provided with angle-pins 17 il, which are usually passed through the shaft, as shown inFig. 3, and these angle-pins 17 ft correspond in num- Ordinarily IOO ber to the number of leaf-turning arms 19, that may be employed in connection with the board.

Horizontal arched `guides 1S are secured to the plate 11, spaces intervening the arched guides, as shown in Fig. 1, and the number of arched guides used is regulated by the number of leaf-turning arms 10 that may be employed, since the inner end of each leafturning arm is arranged to travel between two opposing or adjacent guides 13. Each leaf-turning arm 19, which is preferably provided with a body portion of wire, is attached at its inner end to a plate 20, as shown particularly in Fig. These plates 2O are provided with a keyhole-slot 20, enabling them to be readilyT slipped over the fixed shaft 15. (See Fig. S.)

Adjacent to the outer faces of the guides 1S the leaf-turning arms are in alinement one below the other; but a slight distance beyond the outside of the guides 13 the arms are made to spread laterally, so that the outer ends ofthe arms when grouped together will be one behind the other, the outer end of the lowermost arm being at the front and the outer or free end of the uppermost arm being at the back of the series of leaf-turning arms. At their inner ends the body portions of the several arms are dropped slightly downward to a connection with their plates 20, and the said plates are free to turn on the iixed shaft 15. A spring 21 is provided for each leaf-turning arm, and each spring 21 is attached to one of the angle-pins 17 and is coiled around the shaft 15 below the plate 20, to which the arm is attached. The other end of each spring is carried to the end portion of the plate 20, which is attached to the arm and preferably upward over the said plate to a iirm engagement therewith, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, in which latter figure the section is so taken that the spring appears partly in side elevation and partly in section.

Usually at the inner end of the leaf-turning arms and below the said arms a plate 22 is secured to the board A. A cylinder 23 is carried by this plate, the cylinder being constructed of a plate of spring material bent upon itself so that one of its ends will overlap the other, as shown in Fig. 5, the cylinder being contracted when a clamp 2i is forced in contact with the outer face of the cylinder by being screwed or otherwise detachably connected to the plate 22.

The cylinder 23 is open at each of its ends and constitutes a receiver B for compressed air. The detail construction of this receiver is shown in Figs. 5 and 7, in which it will be observed that a head 25 is located within the cylinder at what may be termed its outer end, the said head being provided with a collar 26 and an opening leading into the collar, the collar being adapted to receive an end of a flexible tube 27, which tube at its other end is attached to a compression-bulb 23, capable of being operated by hand or by foot.-

The head 25 of the compressed-air receiver is provided with an exit-opening 29, closed normally by a valve 30, attached to a springplate 31, the said plate being secured to the outer face ofthe plate 25 of the said compressedair receiver. This valve carrying plate is illustrated in detail in Fig. 10, in which the opening receiving the valve is designated as 30n and the opening receiving the screw by means of which the plate is attached to the head or plate 25 is designated as 30h.

A rod 32, which is virtually a push-rod, forms a portion of the said compressed-air rcceiver. This rod 32 is provided at the end which faces the receiver proper with a collar 33, and from the central portion of the collar a reduced and eXteriorly-tln'eaded section 3-.1 is horizontally projected. A disk 35 is located upon the threaded reduced portion 3i of the push-rod 32, being held in place by a suitable nut. Another disk St is usually placed between the main disk 35 and the collar 33, the disk 3i being provided with lugs 34?, adapted to engage with the head 25 ofthe cylinder or receiver and limit the inward movement oi' the push-rod 32, or the lugs 3i" may be formed directly upon the main disk A disk 3G of rubber or other elastic material is passed over the threaded portion 34C of the push-rod between the disk 3L and the collar 33, the diameter of the ilexible disk 3G being such as to enable it to be carried over the disk 35, which is of metal. A second disk 37 of rubber or a like elastic material is also carried by the threaded portion 3t of the pushrod 32, being of greater diameter than the flexible disk 3G and being located between the said disk 36 and the collar 3. The larger iiexible disk 37 is carried to an engagement with the periphery of the head 25 of the receiver for the compressed air and is crimped on the peripheral portion of the said head and preferably held thereto bya thread 41, wound around the iiexible disk at the peripheral portion of the head 25, as shown in Fig. 5, and a third elastic or flexible disk 38 is located botween the main or casing disk 37 and the collar 33. As heretofore stated, when the clamp 24C is screwed iirmly on the plate 22 the cylinder 23 will be so compressed that an airtight connection will be formed between thc inner face of the cylinder and the head 25 and parts attached to said head.

rlhe additional elastic disks 3G and 38 are provided in order that the push-rod 32 may be permitted to have slight vertical movement owing to the disks giving in a vertical direction when required, and the said pushrod is guided by being passed through openings 40, made in vertical arms 39, projected from the plate 22, as shown in Fig. 5. rlhe walls of one or both of the openings 40 are provided with a felt lining a0,

A spindle-t3 is journaled in a strap-bracket ICO IIO

*Y 42, located in front of the push-rod 32. A

gear-wheel 44 is secured to the said spindle 43, as is likewise a ratchet-wheel 45, the gearwheel being back of the ratchet-wheel and the ratchet-wheel occupying such position that its teeth may be engaged by the pushrod 32 at the forward or inward plunge of the said rod. Each forward or inward plunge of the rod 32 will turn the ratchet-wheel 45 a distance corresponding to the distance between opposing teeth on the said ratchetwheel, and as the push-rod is capable of a slight upward movement it can follow the rotation of the ratchet-wheel when acting thereon. This forward plunge of the pushrod 32 is brought about by forcing the airinto the chamber B, and as the air is forced into said chamber by the manipulation of the bulb 28 the flexible wall thereof will expand. A portion of the air forced into the chamber will escape, but not rapidly enough to prevent the action of the exible section. When the pressure consequent upon the manipulation of the bulb 28 is removed, the said iiexible or yielding walls of the air-receiving chamberB will contract, any surplus air remaining in the chamber escaping through the release or valve-controlled opening29, and the push-rod will be drawn away from the ratchet-wheel 45 and will drop to a position which will enable it at the next manipulation of the bulb 28 to contact with the next tooth of the ratchetwheel and turn said wheel the distance of another tooth.

Alatch-rod 47 is employed for the leaf-carrying arms. This latch-rod 47 is shown in detail in Fig. 6 and is provided with ahead 48,which facilitates its manipulation by hand, a strap 50 at or near its lower end, and a second strap 49 above the strap 50,the said straps serving to hold parallel with the rod 47 abar 5l, provided with teeth 52. The rod 47 and bar 5l have vertical movement in a bracket 46, projected from the inner end portion of the plate 22, carrying the receiving-chamber for the compressed air,and in a second bracket 46, attached to the plate ll, and when the latch-rod 47 is placed in position the teeth 52 on the bar 5l will be in mesh with the gearwheel 44.

In operation the leaf-carrying arms are brought over the ri ght-hand side of the board, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, thereby placing their springs 2l under tension, and when the arms are in this position the latchrod 47 is carried upward until it crosses all of the arms at the right-hand side of the board, as shown also in dotted lines in Fig. l. Each of the arms is adapted to be attached to a leaf of sheet-music. Therefore when thebulb 28 is compressed the push-rod 32 will be carried to an engagement with one of the teeth of the ratchet-wheel 45, turning the said wheel the distance between two teeth and causing the gear-wheel 44 to lower the latch-rod 47 just suliicient to release the uppermost leaf-carrying arm attached to the iirst page of the sheet-music, permitting the spring of said arm to act to carry the arm to the left-hand side of the board, taking the leaf with it, and in the same manner each time that the bulb 28 is manipulated a leafcarrying arm will be released and a leaf of sheet-music turned.

The device which is employed for holding the sheet-music is located beneath the shaft on which the leaf-carrying arms turn, and, as shown in Fig. l, consists of an angle-plate 53, secured vertically to the central portion of the front face of the board A, and an opposing angle-plate 54 movable to and from the fixed plate. A bail 55 is attached to the movable plate 54, being preferably bowed at its center and being made to pass between lugs 56 near the ends of the movable plate 54 and through eyes 57 at the ends of the said movable plate, the ends of the bail being horizontal and engaging with the front face of the board, serving as guides. A bar 58 is attached to the central portion of the bail 55, being held to slide in suitable guides 59, formed usually on a plate 60, attached to the board A. A lever 6l, having its inner end `downwardly curved, is pivoted at its curved end to the sliding bar 58 at a point near where the said bar engages with the said bail 55, the pivot-pin being designated as 62, and a linl; 63 is pivoted to the lever 6l near its center and to an oifset 64 from the outer end of the plate 60. In this manner a toggle-lever is formed, and when the handle end of the lever is carried upward, bringing the members of the toggle at an upward inclination, a space will be formed between the fixed and movable plates 53 and 54. At this time the back edge of the sheet-music is introduced into the space between the plates, and then the handle of the lever 6l is carried downward until the plates 53 and 54 are brought in close engagement, holding iirmly between them the sheet-music. At this time the pivotal connection between the members of the toggle-lever will sustain such relation to their outer pivot-points as to constitute a lock.

A clip 65 of any approved construction is attached to the outer or free end of each leafcarrying arm, as shown in Fig. 9, and in order that the sheet grasped by the clip shall not be injured or torn a strip 66 of felt or other yielding or soft material, is connected with the two jaws in substantially V form, as shown in the said Fig. 9, the sheet of music passing between the members 'of these projectingjaws. Furthermore, in order that the leaf -carrying arms shall be comparatively noiseless when passing from the right to the left or when turning a leaf each arm is provided with a felt collar 68, and in order that these collars shall not turn on the leaf-carrying arms 19 the surface of the arm 67 where the collars 68 are placed is squared or rendered polygonal in cross-section, as is also shown in Fig. 9. The felt collar of the uppermost arm will engage with the board A,

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and the collars of the other arms will engage with each other.

rlhe device in its entirety is exceeding simple, durable, and economic and is thoroughly automatic in its aetion,it requiring but a slight pressure on the bulb 2S after the leaf-carrying arms are placed in position to release an arm for the purpose of turning a leaf or a page.

In Figs. l, l2, and 13 I have illustrated a preferred form of holder for the compressionbulb 28, whereby the bulb may be protected and yet operated by the foot or the knee.

The holder consists of abase-plate 7 O,which is preferably secured to the bottom surface of the piano-bed, where it is within reach of the knee of the player. The base-board is provided near one end upon its outer face with a projection 7l, usually of semicylindrical or semioval shape. At the opposite end of the base-plate a cover-plate 7 2 is hinged having a depression 73 in its inner surface near its free end so located and shaped as to receive the projection 7l. The hinged plate is provided also with an opening 7a near the depression, and a spring 75, preferably of the horseshoe type, is located between the opening and the hinge of the plate. The spring is secured at the extremities of its members to the hinged plate, and the bow end of the spring normally stands quite a distance from the plate and is provided with a slot 76, through which a pin 77 is passed, the pin being secured to the back or base-plate and the free portion of the spring bearing against the head 7S of the pin.

The tube 27 is passed through the opening 7i, and the bulb 28 is placed between the projection 7l and the depression 7 3, as shown in Fig. l, placing the spring under tension. IVhen the hinged plate is pressed, the bulb is pressed also, and as the bulb takes in air the two plates are separated, the spring only serving to keep the bulb in place. A suction-cup 79 is usually attached to the tube 27 in order that it may be secured to the sides of the instrument.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. In a music-leaf turner, or a device of like character, a lxed jaw, a movable jaw, a yoke for the movable jaw having its ends formed as guides, a central guide attached to the yoke, a lever having one end curved and the curved end pivoted to the central guide near its attachment to the yoke, and a link pivoted to the said lever and to a convenient support, the link and said lever acting in the capacity of a toggle-lock joint, as and for the purpose specified.

2. In an air-compressor for music-leaf turners and other devices, a base-plate, and a tension-controlled cover-plate hinged thereto, the base-plate being provided with a projection and the cover-plate with a depression arranged to receive the projection, together with an opening, whereby a compression-bulb may be held between the said projection and the corresponding depression, and the tube from the bulb be passed out atthe opening in the coverplate, as set forth.

3. In a music-leaf turner, the combination, with a shaft provided with lon gitudinally-arranged spurs, a series of music-turning arms mounted upon the shaft, springs coiled around the shaft, each spring being secured at one end to one of said spurs, the opposite end of each spring having bearing upon the hub portion of a music-turning arm, the arms being arranged at their pivot-points one above the other and at their sheet-receiving ends one in front of the other, of a cylinder having opposing flexible and rigid heads, the rigid head having an escape-opening and a spring-con trolled valve for said opening, a non-yielding section attached to the flexible head, alatchrod for the music-turning arms, said rod being provided with a rack, a pinion mounted to engage with the rack, a push-rod constituting a portion of the non-yielding Section of the flexible cylinder-head, and a device for forcing air into said cylinder, for the purpose specified.

4f. In a music-leaf turner, the combination, with a fixed shaft provided with longitudinally-arranged spurs, a series of music-turning arms pivotally mounted upon the shaft, springs coiled around the shaft, each spring being secured at one end to one of said spurs, the opposite end of each spring having bearing upon the hub portion of a music-turning arm, the arms being arranged at their pivotpoints one above the other and at their outer ends one in front of the other, of a cylinder having a rigid and a flexible head, the flexible head of the cylinder being attached to the rigid head, the said flexible head being also provided with a non-yielding section, the rigid head being provided with a relief-opening, a spring attached to said rigid head, a valve carried by said spring, adapted to normally close said relief-opening, a latch-rod capable of simultaneously locking all of the 1nusicturning arms and of alternately releasing them, said latchrod being provided with a rack-surface, a pinion mounted to mesh with the rack-surface of the latch-rod, a ratchet connection with the pinion, a push-bar forming a portion of the non-yielding section of the flexible head, said puslrbar being capable of an up-and-down and a horizontal motion, the push-bar being furthermore adapted for engagement with the said ratchet, and a device for forcing compressed air into the said cylinder through the rigid head thereof, for the purpose set forth.

ALFRED GERARD LAMB.

Witnesses:

A. W. MITCHELL, P. O. McCoY.

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